Two days after the discovery of a 20-year-old woman’s body near Uran railway station in Navi Mumbai, police have apprehended Dawood Shaikh from Karnataka, accusing him of her murder. Authorities arrested Shaikh in Shahapur, Gulbarga, Karnataka. Following the arrest, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray and his wife Sharmila Thackeray reacted to the tragic incident. Sharmila Thackeray stated that she had requested Mumbai Police to ensure the safety of women within their jurisdiction, emphasizing the need for fear of the law. She also clarified that the crime was not religiously motivated, asserting that any perpetrator of such violence should face punishment.
According to police, the victim’s father had filed a complaint against the accused in 2019, leading to a case registered under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. Additional Police Commissioner (Crime) Deepak Sakore revealed that the victim and Dawood Shaikh had maintained communication and met on the day of the murder. While a heated argument between them may have triggered the killing, the precise motive remains unclear, and an ongoing investigation is underway.
The woman’s body was discovered around 2 am on Saturday after her parents reported her missing on July 25. Police reports indicate that the victim, employed in Belapur, had taken a half-day leave from work. The autopsy report confirmed that the victim died from stab wounds, as stated by Sakore.
Deepak Sakore further stated that Shaikh had resided in Uran for a period but relocated to Karnataka following the filing of a police complaint and the subsequent POCSO case registration in 2019. The accused, Dawood Shaikh, who worked as a driver in Karnataka, had continued to maintain contact with the 20-year-old victim, according to police.
